Transformers

Warring factions of alien robots come to earth in search of an ancient artifact.

The Transformers has some of the greatest special effects to date. The robots look so real, it’s hard to believe they were added in post-production.

Director Michael Bay handles the action with his usual flair, and all the performers do the best they can with the material, but no amount of flair and emoting can overcome the fact that the movie runs too long and doesn’t generate any real emotional investment.

Part of this problem stems from the decision to redesign the robots to look less humanoid and more machine-like, which in turn makes them feel less like people. The other problem is the script.

The first ten minutes or so work exceptionally well. The audience is thrust into the middle of an exhausted group of military personnel stationed in the Middle East, who suddenly find themselves under attack after an innocuous helicopter transforms into a giant robot.

Then the movie begins introducing more and more characters who really don’t serve any purpose, and things go downhill from there.

Given the source material, I can’t help but wonder what James Cameron would have done with it. Like Transformers, Cameron’s films frequently featured landmark special effects, but unlike Michael Bay’s film, Cameron’s scripts actually made you care about the characters. Even if they were robots.